Baby cribs are well known in the art and are particularly used next to the bed of the mother or the person who cares for the baby at night.
An example of a known baby crib suitable for being used next to an adult bed is known from EP 2976973, which discloses a baby crib having a substantially rectangular shape, with a bottom having a mattress and with perimeter walls made of a flexible material. The bottom and the walls of the crib are supported by a frame composed of rod-like elements. In addition, the frame of the crib has support members that can be adjusted to increase and/or decrease the height of the crib, for adapting the height of the crib to the height of the bed.
One of the perimeter walls of greater longitudinal extent comprises a portion that can be detached from the adjacent walls, and overturned toward the exterior of the crib on the same wall by being folded around a line parallel to the plane of the bottom of the crib.
The line around which the wall portion is overturned is spaced from the plane of the bottom of the crib by a stationary wall portion. The wall portion can be detached from the adjacent walls by activating releasing means located on both sides of the rod-like element that supports the wall. The detached wall portion can then be overturned toward its own wall, forming an opening through which the person who cares for the baby may access the baby without rising from his/her bed.
Moreover, the crib comprises a safety rod-like element which extends in the stationary portion of the wall. The safety rod-like element comprises a pair of opposed sections which extend along the height of the stationary portion from the bottom of the crib, and one section that extends along the middle portion of the length of the stationary wall.
While the above structural arrangement provides advantages in addressing night time baby-care issues, it still suffers from certain drawbacks, including the problems arising when detaching the wall portion and overturning it on the side of the stationary portion.
In order to open the wall of the crib, the adult needs first to push the crib away from the adult bed to be able to fold the wall and attach the associated rod-like element to the bottom of the crib. Once the wall is overturned and fixed to the bottom of the crib, the adult needs to pull the crib closer to his bed to avoid that a gap is left therebetween.
In spite of all efforts, no one can exclude that a small gap is involuntary left between the crib and the adult bed once the wall portion has been overturned. Hence, a temporarily unattended baby may come out of the crib through the stationary portion of the wall and fall within the gap, as small as it is, between the crib and the side of the bed of the adult who is taking care of him/her.
Another drawback of the above mentioned crib is that, in order to detach and re-attach the wall portion, releasing and blocking means need to be activated while firmly holding the wall portion in place.
Thus, opening the crib wall becomes quite complex when managing the detaching and overturning procedures of the flexible wall. In fact, the detached wall can easily slip from the adult's hands and consequently fall towards the ground for gravity due to the weight of the rod-like element present inside the wall.